Disposable absorbent articles, such as diapers, training pants, and incontinence articles typically include stretchable materials in waist and cuff regions to provide a snug fit and a good seal of the article. Absorbent articles generally include stretchable materials in the side portions for easy application and removal of the article and for sustained fit of the article. Stretchable materials have also been used in the ear portions of disposable diapers for adjustable fit of the article. Stretchable materials may allow the absorbent product to accommodate a range of different sized wearers.
Stretchable materials found in current absorbent products often comprise an elastic member which is generally disposed on or joined to a substrate. Conventional or traditional elastomeric compositions provide the requisite unload forces upon elongation, which may enable the stretchable materials to function effectively to provide a snug fit and/or good seal. However, these elastomeric compositions tend to retract relatively rapidly when released from a stretched state. This rapid retraction complicates the application of the absorbent article.
During application, a diaper generally may be stretched and elongated longitudinally and/or laterally from its initial substantially compacted and untensioned state. Upon release of the elongating tension, the diaper often contracts, constricts, and/or folds before it can be successfully applied to or adjusted on a wearer. In traditional fastenable diapers, the diaper generally is stretched and elongated longitudinally for application onto a wearer. However, if a continuous force is not maintained, the diaper will quickly retract. Generally, a caregiver may need to apply a continuous elongating force to the diaper while positioning the diaper onto the wearer and while tending to the wearer who may not be cooperating (e.g., crying, fussing, moving, resisting, etc.) in the diapering process. Similarly, in pant-type articles, the waist region generally must be stretched and elongated to enlarge the waist opening from an initial substantially constricted and untensioned state. The waist often requires a continuous force to be applied during the application process, generally by a caregiver or wearer, to counteract the rapid retraction of the waist opening that would be experienced without application of the force. Leg openings in pants-type articles also tend to retract quickly and/or constrict the leg with force during application, increasing the difficulty of pulling the article up to the desired location on the wearer's upper thigh.
Certain materials often border on or to some degree approach exhibiting elastic characteristics. Furthermore, such materials may recover to their original dimensions relatively slowly after a deforming force has been removed. However, such materials are generally unable to provide the necessary unload forces to perform desirable functions such as providing a snug fit and/or a good seal. If the stretchable material is unable to provide the desired unload forces, the absorbent article may fail to maintain the proper fit and/or waste containment during normal wearing conditions. Failure in either fit or containment is highly undesirable in absorbent article such as diapers.
In light of these problems with current stretchable materials, a need exists for an absorbent article comprising an elastomeric composition that retract slowly upon being released from a stretched state, so as to facilitate application and positioning of the product correctly onto the wearer, and that also exhibit requisite unload forces, so as to provide the desired fit and/or containment of the absorbent article.